A student-founded, non-profit organization that teaches children about environmental science and sustainability opened a new chapter in San Luis Obispo last week.
Environmental Education for the Next Generation (EENG) was founded two years ago by University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) student Ryland King and has spread to San Francisco, Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo. EENG brings college-age student volunteers into local classrooms to teach first and second graders about the environment.
King got the idea for EENG while volunteering through an environmental club at UCSB, teaching elementary students about green issues every two weeks. King said he noticed being taught by college students helped elementary students engage with subjects in a new, fun way.
“It takes from that MTV structure of college-age kids being the coolest kids,” King said. “If we can have the coolest kids in the world teaching kids, that makes an impact.”
UCSB student government gave King $1,000 to invest in the project, which he used to establish an entire curriculum based on his experiences teaching.
King assembled a handful of volunteers who taught in two classrooms during the first year. It was such a success, a friend told King he should think about creating a non-profit organization.
“I had no idea what that was,” King said.
After some research on the Internet, though, King decided a non-profit was the perfect direction for his experiment, and EENG was formed.
King, along with a team of students, developed two full sets of eight-week curriculum for first and second grade students, focusing on environmental science and sustainability.
Students work in small groups with college students leading the work, with lessons such as “The Importance of Bees” and “Energy Efficiency.”
King incorporated the “cool college factor” into each lesson plan by calling worksheets “funsheets” and giving students “props” at the end of each class: two pats on the thighs, two claps of the hands and pointing at the kids, who then repeat the motions. The curriculum was a hit, King said.
“The kids ask, ‘When are we going to do the funsheet?’” King said.
EENG then expanded its program into 14 different schools in the Santa Barbara area, and this year the non-profit will open new chapters at three different schools.
King said he decided where to found new chapters of EENG by asking members of the organization if they had responsible friends at other colleges who would be interested in the EENG program.
That’s how San Luis Obispo chapter director and Cal Poly graphic design junior Jamee Curan was chosen.
“I had a friend from high school who was an instructor (with EENG),” Curan said. “They kind of put it out there that they wanted to expand to (San Luis Obispo), and she name dropped me.”
EENG then contacted Curan, who expressed interest in the program and underwent an interview before EENG decided she was the right choice to help found a new chapter of the non-profit. Then she underwent several months of training.
Curan was contacted in December, and it has taken nearly a year to make the San Luis Obispo EENG a reality, she said.
Curan then recruited 25 friends who were interested in the program and taught them the curriculum. San Luis Obispo’s chapter of EENG officially went into action last week in five different classrooms at Pacheco Elementary and Bishop’s Peak Elementary schools.
Curan and the other EENG volunteers started off the eight-week curriculum by planting seeds with both age groups and watching the plants grow.
According to Curan, the instructors were quickly relieved of their nerves after realizing the students were not only enjoying themselves, but also learning from the program.
“We had no idea what to expect, and they were so excited to have us,” Curan said. “At the end of the lesson, they were reiterating everything we taught them.”
Business administration senior and EENG volunteer Bryan Yatsui agreed the first week of EENG classes was a success.
“I went into this unsure of what the experience would be,” he said. “This first week has been a boost for my confidence and made me even more excited to go back next week.”
For Yatsui, teaching with EENG is worth the amount of time put in to learn the four to five page curriculum for each lesson.
“It’s really not that much work, but it’s super rewarding,” Yatsui said.